Method of making soft soled shoes



Feb. 5, 1935. B. CARPENTER ET AL 1,989,969 Q METHOD OF MAKING SOFT SOLED SHOES Filed March 21, 1930 N k\\\\\ \N INVENTORS Ieefl@r 6%287' M/ZBW'ES flap ATTORNEY atented Feb. 5, 1935- TES PATENT 1,989,969 METHOD OF MAKING SOFT SOLED SHOES Lee B. Carpenter and Walter I. Barnes, Rochester,

N. Y., assignors to The Carpenter Shoe (Jmpany, Ina, Rochester, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application March 21, 1930, Serial No. 437,836

8 Claims.

has for its principal object the construction of a shoe of this kind constructed of softer and more" flexible leather or like material than has heretofore been employed and which is neat in appearance and durable.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a method of making shoes in which the inner and outer soles are constructed of soft flexible material and secured to each other and to the upper by means of cement, the outer edge of the outer sole being reinforced by means of a welt also secured thereto by means of cement.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of a method of making shoes which consists in cementing the inner sole to the upper and forming an endless welt having an opening of the size and shape of the inner sole and cementing it to the outer sole, and then cementing the outer sole with the welt to the inner sole and upper, said welt serving to reinforce the edges of the outer sole so that it can be finished in the usual way.

A still further object of the invention is' the provision of a method of making shoes which consists in forming an upper in the usual way, cutting an inner sole and endless welt, cementing the inner sole to the upper, forming an outer sole,

cementing the endless welt to the outer sole,.

applying a coat of cement to the outer sole within the welt, applying the outer sole to the inner sole and upper, and applying pressure to the outer sole through a flexible sheet.

To these and other ends, the invention consists in the construction and arrangement of parts that will appear from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, the novel features beingpointed out in the claims at the end of the specification.

In the drawing: Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a shoe constructed according to one embodiment of the invention; Fig. 2 is a transverse section through the upper I and inner sole, taken substantially on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a similar view through the outer sole and welt taken substantially on line 3-3 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the outer sole with the welt connected thereto; A v

Fig. 5 is a transverse section of a resilient plate through which pressure is applied to the sole;

.Fig. 6 is a transverse section through the finished shoe, also taken substantially on line,

2-2 of Fi 1; A v

Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary detail showis the formation of the upper above referred to.

The upper is then lasted on a suitable last 2 in the usual manner. The next step is the formation of the inner sole 3 which may be formed in the usual way, although much time and labor may be saved by forming it in one operation with the welt.

To this end, the inner sole and welt are formed with the same die and the welt thus cut from the outer margin of the inner sole is a single continuous strip as shown. By this method, the outer margin of the welt is formed of the same size and contour as theouter margin of the outer sole 6, and its inner margin is of the samesize and contour as the outer margin of the inner sole from which it was cut. The inner sole is then applied to the last and cement applied to its outer margin and to the projecting edge of the upper, which is then bent or turned over the last and edge of the inner sole to which it adheres by reason of the cement. Ifdesired, the outer lower edge of the inner sole may be skived, as shown in the drawing, to form a substantially plane surface at '7, where it engages the inner face of the bent portion of the upper.

Cement is then applied to the welt 5 and the outer margin of the upper surface of the outer sole, and after the usual shrinkage has taken place, the welt is applied to the outer sole to which it adheres by reason of the cement. If desired 'to make a shoe having a heel lift, such as 8 shown in the drawing, such a heel lift may be formed and cemented in proper position on the outer sole, and the welt cemented to the outer sole and the heel lift.

Since the soles are made of very soft flexible material and the main function of the welt is to reinforce or stiffen the edge of the outer sole in the finished shoe, and since the heel lift performs that function at the heel of the shoe, the same result could be attained by omitting the welt from that portion of the shoe.

Cement is then applied to the inner sole and the inwardly projecting portions of the upper, preferably inexcess amount, over the inner sole between the inner edges of the upper and the outer sole with the welt cemented thereto is then applied.

Pressure is then applied to the outer sole through an air bag in a manner well understood in the art, a pressure of approximately sixty pounds per square inch being required.

Owing to the fact that the outer sole is not uniformh; in contact with the inner sole over its entire surface, depressions and elevations are liable to occur in the sole of the finished shoe. To overcome this defect, it has been found that by using an excess of cement between the inner and outer soles, as stated above, and applying the pressure through a plate 10 of flexible or resilient material such as metal or leather applied to the outer sole, the prexure is more uniformly distributed to the outer sole, and the excess cement under pressure flows to the depressions between the soles and builds them up to the elevations, resulting in asubstantially smooth or even surface to the outer sole in the finished shoe.

Sometimes it is desirable to make a shoe in which the inner and outer soles are spaced more uniformly from each other. This is readily accomplished in the present method by applying a layer of soft pliable material 12, such as ground cork to the inner sole and fixed in position by means of cement, as is usual in the art. This filler may be applied between the inner edges of the upper and of a thickness substantially equal to the thickness of the material of which the upper is made. The outer sole may be then applied as reviously described, but is held from contact with or separated from the inner sole by the filler which now occupies the space between them.

The grade of cement used has the effect of shrinking the material of the welt, with the result that it projects under the inner edge of the inner sole where it engages the inner surface of the upper. In order to overcome this to a certain extent and provide a plane surface on the welt to engage the upper, the method may include the skiving of 'the upper inner edge of the welt at 11, as shown in the drawing. By this arrangement, the bent portion of the upper is engaged between the plane surfaces '7 and 11 formed respectively on the inner sole and welt.

The cement used in making this shoe is prefer ably a cement having the properties of a cement with a cellulose base, such as cellulose acetate or cellulose nitrate, a product well known in the art and having certain properties which make it well adapted for this particular use.

As previously stated, the material employed for the inner and outer soles is very soft and flexible. By the use of the endless welt described herein, thatpart of the outer sole which projects from the inner sole and upper is reinforced thereby so that the sole may be tooled and finished in the usual manner.

Although a particular way of performing the invention is illustrated and described herein, it

will be understood that this application is intended to cover such changes or modifications as come within the spirit of the invention or scope of the following claims.

We claim:

1. The method of making soft soled shoes, which consists in forming an upper, forming an outer sole, forming a blank for an inner sole of the shape and size of the outer sole, cutting a welt from the outer edge of said blank to form an inner sole and welt, cementing the upper to the inner sole, cementing the welt to the outer sole, and cementing'the outer sole and welt to the inner sole and upper.

2. The method of making soft soled shos, which consists in forming an upper, forming an outer sole, forming a blank for an inner sole and welt of the size and shape of the outer sole, cutting the welt from the inner sole blank to form an inner sole and welt, skiving the lower outer edge of the inner sole, cementing the upper to the inner sole, cementing the welt to the outer sole, and cementing the outer sole and welt to the inner sole and upper.

3. The method of making soft soled shoes, which. consists in forming an upper, forming an outer sole, forming a blank for an inner sole and welt of the size and shape of the outer sole, cutting the welt from the inner sole blank to form an inner sole and welt, cementing the upper to the inner sole, skiving the upper inner edge of the welt, cementing-the welt to the outer sole, and cementing the outer sole and welt to the inner sole and upper.

4. The method of making soft soled shoes, which consists in forming .an upper, forming an outer sole, forming a blank for an inner sole and welt of the size and shape of the outer sole, cutting the welt from the inner sole blank to form an inner sole and welt, skiving the lower outer edge of the inner sole, cementing the upper to the inner sole, skiving the upper inner edge of the welt, cementing the welt to the outer sole, and cementing the outer sole and welt to the inner sole and upper.

5. The method of making soft soled shoes, which consists in forming an upper, forming an outer sole, forming a blank for an inner sole and welt of the shape and size of the outer sole, cutting a welt from the outer edge of said blank to form an inner sole and endless welt, cementing the inner sole to the upper, cementing the welt to the outer sole, and cementing the outer sole and welt to the inner sole and upper.

6. The method. of making a soft soled shoe, which consists in forming an upper, forming an inner sole and welt, said welt being cut from the inner sole so that its inner edge conforms substantially to the shape and size of the outer edgeof the inner sole, cementing the inner sole to the upper, forming an outer sole, cementing the welt to the outer sole, and cementing the outer sole and welt to the inner sole and upper.

7. The method of making a soft soled shoe, which consists in forming an upper, forming an inner sole and welt, said welt being cut from the inner sole so that its inner edge conforms substantially to the shape and size of the outer edge of the inner sole, cementing the inner sole to the upper, forming an outer sole, cementing the welt to the outer sole, and allowing the action of the cement to shrink the welt so that its inner edge is smaller than the outer edge of the inner sole, and cementing the outer sole and welt to the inner soleand upper with the outer edge of the inner sole projecting over the inner edge of the welt.

8. The method of making shoes, which consists in forming an upper, forming an outer sole, forming a blank for an inner sole of the shape and size of the outer sole, cutting a welt from the outer edge of said blank to form an inner sole and welt, attaching the upper to the inner sole, cementing the welt to the outer sole, andcementing the outer sole and welt to the inner sole and upper.

LEE B. CARPENTER. WALTER I. BARNES. 

